Poor Law Institution, Westbury on Severn (General)

by jenks , London, Friday, November 27, 2009, 00:33 (5550 days ago) @ Roger Griffiths

Some of the people who died in the Workhouse were in the Infirmary. I have a good book on the poor law and it says that although there was a stigma associated with admission to the Workhouse, the same did not apply to the Infirmary which was the only place where the poor could receive medical treatment. Obviously in some cases the treatment was not successful and the patient died.

I have a similar situation in my own family, my great great grandfather's place of death was given as the workhouse but his widow who died a year later died at home. From my research into the family I doubt if his children would have allowed him to be an inmate and his widow wasn't.

I haven't got the book with me at present but if you want its title let me know.